28 April, 2016

Fears of terrorist nuke attack after power plant hacked in Germany

A German
nuclear power plant found its network implanted with viruses which
could allow remote access to equipment for moving nuclear fuel rods.
The major security breach occurred at the Gundremmingen nuclear power
plant, 75 miles northwest of Munich, after malware was found on 18
removable data drives.

The
W32.Ramnit and Conficker viruses were discovered on the drives —
malware which could be used to obtain sensitive nuclear fuel data.
W32.Ramnit allows hackers access to files and, potentially, physical
control over systems; terrorists could access the information and use
it to build a radioactive ‘dirty' bomb.

According to
officials, the plant is isolated from the Internet, and, as such, no
online theft could occur.

[...]

The two
Brussels bombers hid a camera near the home of the research and
development director of the Belgian Nuclear Programme. Police assumed
the two were planning a kidnapping to gain access to the
highly-sensitive atomic site.

Another
warning sign was the discovery of documents related to a German
nuclear base, in the flat of a Paris attacks suspect.The
Gundremmingen case has pushed German utility company RWE to enhance
its cybersecurity protection measures.